Holder for electric conductors



Dec. 17, 1929. RAPISARD] I 1,740,035

HOLDER FOR ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS Filed Feb. 6. 1924 IN VENT OR f M, 3Y

' economically.

Patented Dec. 17, 1929 I I xUNETED STATES PATENT; OEFFECE ALFIO RAPISARIDI, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS HOLDER FOR, ELECTRIC CONDUGTOlR-S A Application filed February 6, 1924. Serial No. 690,977.

This invention relates to apparatus for vacuum cleaner or other electrical implesupporting the electric cable or conductor ment with which the device is to be used. 7 used to supply current to a portable electric An electric cable 12 is wound on the reel 2, implement of some character, such, for inand in the form shown includes two parallel stance, as a domestic vacuum cleaner. conductors C-Cv which usually'are twisted,

Electric current usually is supplied to thetogether and enclosed in an insulating covmotor of a vacuum cleaner by means of a ering. These two conductors are connected, conductor, commonly called a cord, which respectively, to two metal slip rings 15 and connects the motor with a supply outlet or 16, F ig. l, which are secured to the outer face 10 socket. In using the cleaner this conducting of the disk l of the reel. This connection cord is a source of constant annoyance, due may be conveniently made by binding posts, to the fact that the slack cord is lying on the as indicated at 17 and 18, respectively, Fig. 1,

floor and is i th way m ch f th time, these posts being secured, respectively, to the The present invention aims to devise a holder" rings 15 and 16 and extending through the 15 for the cord or cable which will obviate this head 0f the reel. Cooperating with these obj tio It i al o a bj t of th inventwo rings 15 and 16 are two stationary contion to provide an article of this character flCtS 19 and 20, respectively, consisting of which will be simple in, construction, reliable plungers supported by a stationary pl t 21 in operation, and whichcan be ma f tur d which is made of insulating material. and is V secured on the stationary shaft 5. Service The nature of the invention will bereadily conductors SS lead from the contacts 19 understood from the following description and 20 to the motor'of the cleaner. These when read in connection with the accomcontacts'areheld in engagement with their anying drawings, and the novel features respective rings y ns f prings 22 and 25 will be particularly'pointed out in the apr spectively. Due to this'arrangement nd d laim, the supply of current-to the motoris not in- In the accompanying drawings, terrupted 01 aiiected in any way by the :rota- Figure 1 is a. view, partly in side elevation tlon of the reel. I and partly in cross section, showing an ap- F r the purpose ofwinding 'up the cord 30 paratus embodying the invention in the form 011 the T861, a torsion Spring 25 is located in so at present preferred; the casing 7 and one end of this spring is Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts for clampanchored on a pin 26, while the other end is ing the cord; fastened to the hub of a gear 27 which meshes Fig.3 is a cross sectional View on he line with a pinion 28 fastened on the'end of the 5 3*3 Fig, 2.; and reel. The cord is unwound from the reel Flg. t is an end v1ew of one of the end i l by pulling on it, and the rotary P of reel ShOWmg the 19 rmgs tion of thereel produced in this manner is i l g st' gt' h 1 transmitted through'the gearing tothe tori cons: i lon S Own compnses ree sion spring 25, thus winding up this spring. 40 which COIlSlSLS of a barrel 2 and end disksor The 30W 5,, d 131 q t a heads 3 and 4t secured to said barrel These 1. b0 s-pre m 16 131mb 1S to the reel a ain as soon as the strain on the parts may conveniently be made of wood or Cold i rele 1 th 1 fibre. The reel is mounted to rotate on a a 0 5m p soon as there is any slack in the cord.

stationary shaft 5, one end of which is sup- 45 ported in a plate 6 and the other in a cas- In 9 to enable the Operator t Prevgnt 95 ing' or shell 7, both the plate and the casing h Wl d up of the 9r y the reel, Whenconstituting parts of the supporting bracket ever deslred, 00rd 1S led from the 15681 for the device. This bracket also includes ough a lamping device comprising a U- split clamps 8-8 by means of which the deshaped bracket 30, Figs. 2 and3, and a cylinvice may be secured to, the handle 10 of a drical member 31 supported on'pivetpoints 32 me and 33 which are carried by the bracket 30. This bracket is mounted just above the reel. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the cylinder 31 is eccentrically mounted, and it is provided with a handle 34 by means of which it may be swung into or out of clamping position. WVhen the handle 34 is tipped downwardly, the cord 12 may slip freely through the clamping device, and this is the normal position for the handle. When it is desired to clamp the cord at any desired point, the handle 34 is swung upwardly, and the cylinder 30 then pinches the cord against an intermediate portion of thebracket 30 and prevents the reel from winding up the cord. The cord may be released again simply by turning the handle 34 down.

It will now be appreciated that this invention provides a very simple holder for supporting the electric conducting cableor cord used with electricallyoperated vacuum cleaners or electric implements of various kinds.

he cord may bewithdrawn or unwound as more is desired simply by pulling on it, and the reel operates automatically to take up the slack in the cord as soon as the strain on it is reduced. Atthe same time the cord can be conveniently clamped whenever desired in order to relieve the operator ofthe pull exerted on the cord by the reel. The length of cord in use, therefore, at any time is substantially that required for the use of the implement at that instant, and such length is increased or decreased almost instantly as a different length becomes desirable. There is never any accumulation of slack cord on the floor to interfere with the use of the cleaner, or to become snarledand catch in articles of furniture as the cleaner is moved from one part of a room toanother. Furthermore, the device is very simple in construction, can be manufactured economically, and it is not lia ble to get out of order.

Having thus described my invention, What I desire to claim as new is:

A cord holder for portable electric apparatus comprising, in combination, a supporting bracket, a reel, an electric conductor cord wound on said reel, a stationary shaftsupported by said bracket and supporting said reel, said cord including two parallel conductors, two slip rings mounted on one end of saidreel in co axial relationship to the reel,-a member secured to said shaft, two stationary contacts supported by said member'and engaging, respectively, with said rings, two service conductors leading, respectively, from said contacts,a pinion rotating with said reel, a second shaft supported in said bracket, a gear mounted on said second shaft,'a coiled spring encircling said secondshaft, a casing for said gears and spring, one end of said spring being secured to said casing and the other end 'to said gear, means 'for securingsaid bracket to said apparatus, and a device ad- ALFIO RAPISARDL; 

